Legislative budget writers this morning debated
a proposal to go along with Gov. Butch Otter’s plan to set aside $50
million in a trust fund for scholarships for needy students next year,
another to put $20 million in, and a third to put in $10 million –
matching last year’s deposit – and allow for $2 million in one-time
funding for scholarship awards next year, to match what was funded this
year. The $50 million proposal, backed by Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise,
got only three votes. The $20 million proposal, from Rep. Shirley,
Ringo, D-Moscow, got just four votes, from the panel’s four Democrats.
Then, the original $10 million motion passed 19-1, with just Rep. Cliff
Bayer, R-Boise, objecting.
This year, the Opportunity Scholarship program
is handing out roughly 700 scholarships of up to $3,000 to needy Idaho
college students. They’ll have to apply again next year to keep their
scholarships, but those who got them this year will have priority. Demand
for the scholarships has been huge, and more than twice as many students
qualified as received awards.
Ringo argued for dipping into the state’s
overflowing reserve funds, if necessary, to make a one-time deposit into
the scholarship trust fund. “I know that we’re under some very challenging
constraints,” she said. “I wouldn’t indicate that I’m willing to raid
other budgets that are austere, but I would be willing to explore rather
extraordinary measures to fund this, even to the extent of perhaps
borrowing or taking from some of the available pots of money.”
Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert,
said the governor is “to be commended” for making the scholarship
proposal. “Unfortunately, when he set his budget, resources were at a
different point, revenue was at a different projection, and we were not
facing the difficulty that we’re facing today,” he told the committee.
“And while we do have money in reserve accounts and our budget
stabilization account and the public schools stabilization account, now is
not the time to be withdrawing from those accounts in order to balance the
budget. I would gently ask you that if you can’t balance the budget on
projected revenues now, how will it be when revenues are even worse, if in
fact things continue in the direction that they have been?”
Cameron noted that budget decisions that still
haven’t been made – including funding for public schools and higher
education – will be “really tough decisions.” He said, “While scholarships
are important, they’re not more important than some of the other issues,
like appropriately funding higher education or appropriately funding
public education.”
The approved budget eliminates $2 million in
ongoing funding for the scholarships that lawmakers approved last year,
but replaces that with $2 million in one-time funds. That means next
year’s scholarships will be for the same amount as this year’s, plus any
extra from earnings on the existing trust fund. The following year,
lawmakers would again have to decide whether to add to the earnings to
keep scholarships at the same level.
By
Betsy Russell - Eye on Boise
Senate votes 28-6 for $10M ID
Opportunity Scholarship infusion
BOISE, Idaho - The Senate voted 28-6 to give $10
million to the Opportunity Scholarship for low-income students, over
objections of Democrats who said Idaho should do more.
Governor
Butch Otter had wanted $50 million for the scholarship
endowment.
Instead, lawmakers cited dour revenue projections _ and
gave him $10 million, equal to the appropriation from 2007.
Like
last year, lawmakers have also set aside a separate $2 million infusion
for scholarships this year.
With interest from the existing
endowment, the money will likely fund more than 700 scholarships this
year, up from 641.
Still, Senator Elliot Werk of Boise said he
just couldn't support that "level of effort."
Senator Dean
Cameron, a Republican from Rupert, said there just wasn't enough money to
do more.
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
